Brown Gets a “D” From Anti-Defamation League for Anti-Semitism on Campus
Thursday, April 11, 2024
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released its first Campus Antisemitism Report Card on Thursday, assessing “incidents, Jewish life on campus and university policies and administrative actions related to combatting antisemitism and protecting Jewish students.”
The ADL gave Brown University in Providence a grade of “D.”
GoLocal first reported last December that students at Brown who are active in the Jewish community had their apartment broken into and, according to Providence Police, were targeted with an anti-Semitic note.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBrown University officials sent an internal email notice to faculty and staff identifying the incident not as an act of “anti-Semitism” — but, Brown called the incident “bias-related.”
Previously, Brown had referred to anti-Semitic” incidents as acts of “anti-Semitism.”
Brown University has received millions in funding from sources in “Palestinian Territories,” according to a review of federal data by GoLocal last fall. There were no donations from Israel.
Records show two entries from "Palestinian Territories" of $643,000 which state “the purpose of the Fund is to provide support for a Professorship in Palestinian Studies within Middle East Studies.”
The professor who those gifts supported is Beshara B Doumani, the Mahmoud Darwish Professor of Palestinian Studies at Brown. He also simultaneously has served as the President of Birzeit University from 2021 to 2023, located in the Palestinian West Bank territory. His Brown University bio does not mention his role heading the Palestinian University, but his Birzeit bio features his role at Brown.
When Doumani was named to the Presidency at Birzeit, the American conservation publication the American Spectator wrote, "Palestine’s ‘Terrorist University’ Picks Ivy League Prof as New President."
The Birzeit University was raided in September of 2023, and eight students were arrested by Israeli Defense Forces for suspected ties to a terror plot.
Brown in Focus
ADL in their rankings wrote the following.
"Brown’s 1,700 Jewish undergraduate students make up about 24% of the undergraduate student population and 139 Jewish graduate students make up 4% of the graduate student population. Jewish life at Brown is supported by Brown RISD Hillel and the Rohr Chabad House.
Since October 7, Brown’s Palestine Solidarity Caucus, Brown Divest Coalition, Brown SJP and other groups have hosted a series of rallies and protests on campus, including a hunger strike and sit-ins at University Hall demanding Brown divest from Israel. Some of these rallies have included anti-Zionist rhetoric."
ADL noted the efforts that Brown is now undertaking.
"Brown is launching new programming and initiatives aimed at fostering constructive dialogue and cultivating a caring and supportive community. Brown’s Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity has hosted a series of programs to engage the campus community in learning about antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and anti-Israeli discrimination, and all forms of racism."
About Report Card
According to ADL, the Report Card reviewed 85 schools and assigned grades from A through F, to give campus leadership, parents, students, alumni and stakeholders a mechanism to evaluate the state of antisemitism on campus and how schools across the country are responding.
Two schools received an “A,” 17 schools received a “B,” 29 schools received a “C,” 24 schools received a “D,” and 13 schools received an “F” grade.
“We at ADL have been working with university leadership for years to help them better understand the nature of this problem,” said Ron Fish, ADL New England Interim Regional Director. “Some of the schools seem to have learned since October 7 that turning a blind eye to harassing speech that marginalizes Jewish students is not a wise policy. We hope to see much improved grades in the future, as schools begin to implement sound policies that protect all students.”
The Report Card reveals that colleges must develop strong policies and procedures to address conduct that creates a hostile environment, while also swiftly enforcing those policies fairly when students, staff or faculty violate them.
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